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• begin each item with an asterisk

• produce shop at reading terminal market
• do my laundry
• embark on a movie date
• vintage shop
• make breakfast
• clean the apartment

• teacher
• banker
• writer (that's me!)
• military
• sales

• boy bands
• the central branch of the free library of philly
• reality television
• chick flicks

• edemame
• strawberries
• bagels with butter and some kind of jelly
• cheez itz
• blackberries
• peanut butter on toast
• bananas
• popcorn

• 'mery christmas, happy holidays' by 'nsync
• 'under my tree' by 'nsync
• 'kiss me at midnight' by 'n sync
• 'grownup christmas list' by monica
• 'last christmas' by cast of 'glee'
• 'all i want for christmas is you' by mariah carey
• 'this gift' by 98 degrees
• 'baby, it's cold outside' by jessica simpson and nick lachey

• 'come what may' from moulin rouge
• 'one song glory' from RENT
• 'seasons of love' from RENT
• 'goodbye love' from RENT
• 'another day' from RENT
• 'defying gravity' from wicked
• 'as long as you're mine' from wicked
• 'no good deed' from wicked
• 'dancing through life' from wicked
• 'written in the stars' from aida
• 'hopelessly devoted' from grease
• 'under the sea' from the little mermaid (depsite how hard that musical tanked-)
• 'phantom of the opera' from the phantom of the opera
• 'fame' from fame
• 'on my own' from fame

first of all, i rarely carry an actual purse. but the contents of my timbuk2 are as follows:

• a journal
• pens
• my wallet
• make up
• hair ties/bobby pins
• a bottle of big cranberry flavored nantucket nectars
• my digital camera
• a brush
• a compact umbrella
• paperwork on various job leads
• 2 library books
• my cell phone
• an extra set of ipod earbuds
• my ipod

• daria
• doug
• hey arnold
• the simpsons
• ducktales
• rugrats

• matthew's
• the plymouth
• calamaris
• the brewerie

• project runway
• keeping up with the kardashians
• big brother
• the bachelor
• tough love
• teen mom
• so you think you can dance

• denise (2nd-4th/5th grade best friend who now lives in north jersey. last time i saw her, we were roaming around the MET in nyc for the day. i'll say that's a long way from jungle gyms and barbies- the fact that we are still very close warms my heart. she's great people.)- i guess i can toss carla and jessica and sandra in this as well (carla is denise's older sister who recently had a baby and who babysat my sister and i when we were children. i feel like her baby is my nephew as well since i've known the family for damn near 20 years. jessica is denise's younger sister who's about 17. she's a really artsy kid, and a lot of fun. prior to moving to philly, i pictured her as the toddler she was when their family moved away. sandra is denise's cousin who used to visit them when we were children. despite her bratty 7 year old tendencies, she's...

• mango
• blackberries
• fresh spinach
• strawberries
• peaches
• honeycrisp apples
• blueberry cake donuts from dunkin
• veggie pizza
• 3 cheese nachos from qdoba
• tuna
• plain bagels
• eggs
• apple cinnamon oatmeal
• pasta
• popcorn
• peanut butter cups
• chili
• grilled cheese
• wheat bread
• grilled chicken
• cheese

• see wicked
• explore brooklyn
• dance my butt off at one of dj deejay's ...
• spring clean my facebook friends list
• redecorate my apartment
• pick a weekend to visit mike and paul in dc
• return the lovely bones 'cuz it's totally overdue at this point- dammit.
• find some reasonably priced web space
• buy a nice 35mm camera. i miss my black and white film phase from college
• go out- like out like 20 somethings go out and drink rum and cokes while flirting with the gentleman across the bar with the nice smile
• visit a smithsonian museum
• publish a piece
• gather a staff for my literary magazine
• apply to 5 jobs

philly has been home since 2007. i believe, no i know. i know that i'm very ready for something new. i have the next 6ish months to decide between the following:

• dc
• boston
• chicago
• seattle
• austin
• brooklyn

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• pretty little liars
• vampire diaries
• the bachelor (SO ashamed!)
• fringe
• bones
• glee

• my job
• grown people around me not knowing how to be grown in public
• never feeling good enough for my parents
• once every blue moon, my ex
• that up disney flick 'cuz that cute animated little old man looks like joe paterno, the head coach of psu football
• the season 1 finale of glee. i honestly cried like a small child while watching that and completely lost it during the finale 2 numbers.
• holidays when i'm not with my extended family (my college buddies)
• the state of the education system in philadelphia
• disgusting gay rights laws in the state of pennsylvania. i'm an avid supporter.
• unrequited love.

• lucky charms
• special k with strawberries
• the cheerios with the dried bananas and strawberries
• fruit peebles
• apple jacks
• cinnamon toast crunch

• national constitution center (philadelphia)
• independence mall- including independence hall, the liberty bell, and all that (philadelphia)
• philadelphia museum of art (obviously philadelphia)
• the franklin (philadelphia)
• academy of natural sciences (philadelphia)
• national liberty museum (philadelphia)
• rosenbach museum and library (philadelphia)
• rodin museum (philadelphia)
• edgar allen poe national historical site (philadelphia)
• MoMA (NYC)
• metropolitan museum of art (NYC)
• erie art museum (erie, pa)

• espresso machine
• toaster oven
• spice rack
• hanging rack for mugs
• wall clock

• "i suggest we learn to love ourselves before it's made illegal."
• "i called because i just need to feel you on the line- don't hang up this time. and i know it was me who called it over, but i still wish you'd fought me til your dying day."
• "you wear your heart on your sleeve. i throw mine to the sky."
• "i want to celebrate the whole world. i want to make it mine."
• "you and me could write a bad romance."
• "90 miles outside chicago- can't stop driving. i don't know why. too many questions. i need an answer. 2 years later he's still on my mind."
• "i loved you with a fire red, now it's turning blue."
• "kiss me too fiercely. hold me too tight. i need help believing you're with me tonight... just for this moment- as long a...

• rent
• the lion king
• wicked
• across the universe (that was a musical, right?)
• hairspray
• moulin rogue (that was totally a musical-)

• "be- be the one i need. be the one i trust most. don't stop inspiring me." from 'running' by no doubt.
• "this is not a coincidence and far more than a lucky chance." from 'ribbon in the sky' by stevie wonder.
• "what good is a life with no one to share the light of the moon? the honor of a swear?" from 'we belong together' by gavin degraw.
• "if only time flew like a dove, we could make it fly faster than i'm falling in love. this time we're not giving up. let's make it last forever." from 'hallelujah' by paramore.
• "i miss the still of the silence as you breathe out and i breathe in... come on get higher. loosen my lips. faith and desire and the swing of your hips." from 'come on get higher' by matt nathanson.
• "i'm lucky i'm in love with my best frien...

• american fiction after 1945
• band ('cuz dr. v was a cool cat-)
• both of my advanced poetry workshops
• creative theory
• popular texts (sidenote: the one class that i ever had with my best friend-)
• generally every class taught by dr. champagne... that man is a genius.

• 'if there's love' by citizen cope
• 'overjoyed' by stevie wonder
• 'we bleong together' by gavin degraw
• 'running' by no doubt
• 'dancing in the moonlight' by van morrison
• 'crazy love' by van morrison
• 'to make you feel my love' by adele
• 'after tonight' by justin nozuka
• 'come on get higher' by matt nathanson
• 'cuddle fuddle' by passion pit
• 'from my heart to yours' by laura izibor
• 'glad you're here' by macy gray
• 'PDA (we just don't care)' by john legend
• 'lifesize' a fine frenzy
• 'the look' by ryan tedder
• 'lucky' by jason mraz
• 'mmm...' by laura izibor
• 'no one' by alicia keys
• 'st. patrick's day' by john mayer

• cable/internet
• cell phone
• student loan
• rent
• electricity

the staples of my personal style

• skinny jeans
• dark denim
• ballet flats
• fitted sweaters
• button downs
• blazers
• classic solid colored platform pumps
• chucks
• fitted tshirts
• sweater vests
• tailored vests
• flat boots
• mittens
• functional scarves
• tunics
• ruffles
• delicate detailing
• totes
• wristlets
• flowing dresses

• communications
• poetry/poetics
• literary theory
• marketing
• american literature
• literary traditions

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• american idiot
• rent
• next to normal
• bloody bloody andrew jackson
• miss abigail's guide to dating, mating, and marriage
• peter and the starcatcher
• the lion king
• phantom of the opera
• a midsummer night's dream
• the tempest
• romeo and juliet
• a merchant in venice
• taming of the shrew
• how to succeed in business
• the crucible

• glee live at radio city music hall
• kelly's going away brunch
• american idiot on broadway
• meeting up with liz while she was on my side of the state
• soul crushed due to not getting that job
• dani's play in maryland
• renewing the lease on my apartment
• being asked to be in jenn and scott's wedding next year

• memorial day school (kindergarten- savannah, ga)
• pulaski elementary school (1st-2nd- savannah, ga)
• grafenwoehr elementary school (2nd-5th grafenwoehr, germany)
• j.e. williams elementary school (5th huntsville, al)
• westlawn middle school (6th-7th huntsville, al)
• st. john the baptist school (7th-8th erie, pa)
• northwest pennsylvania collegiate academy (9th-12th erie, pa)
• penn state university (obviously college)

sidenote: i grew up with a parent in the military. hence the constant bouncing around.

• austin, tx
• brooklyn, ny
• coventry village, oh
• pittsburgh, pa

• ferngully
• the sandlot
• beauty and the beast
• aladdin
• the swan princess
• little giants
• casper
• the lion king
• a league of their own

• clarksville, tn
• fort campbell, ky
• savannah, ga
• huntsville, al
• madison, al
• erie, pa
• grafenwoehr, germany
• erie, pa
• conshohocken, pa
• aberdeen, md
• philadelphia, pa

• matt, the little blue eyed boy in kindergarten
• brian, the counselor's son in like 3rd/4th grade
• cj, the cute little boy who moved in downstairs after denise's family moved away in 4th grade
• brandon, 5th-7thish grade/first boyfriend/first kiss
• lou, short basketball player in 7th grade
• jesse, kid in 8th grade class
• matt, kid who replaced the jesse crush in 8th grade
• johnny, sporadically between ages like 8 and 15- my mother's best friend's son
• jim, 9th-10th grade
• jason, 11th-12th grade
• nate, first couple of months of college (who actually became a good friend- i was just in his wedding ha-)

• mizu sushi
• phileo yogurt
• dunkin donuts
• chick-fil-a
• subway

• moving to philadelphia
• changing my major from psychology to creative writing in college
• the kid i dated in college
• that first major heartbreak
• my first corporate america job
• joining an organization like the activities board in college and the bonds i made there (somehow, we went from booking college shows, to holiday meet ups, to being in each others' weddings and bicoastal video chats... at some point, we grew up-)
• my best friend being my best friend
• being the oldest child in my family
• growing up with a parent in the military

• zora neale hurston
• eloise greenfield
• joan didion
• anne carson
• pablo neruda
• saul williams
• e.e. cummings
• zadie smith

• chris pine
• zachary quinto
• jason mraz
• taye diggs
• jim sturgess
• men of 'glee'
• mark ruffalo
• john krasinski
• justin timberlake
• jimmy fallon
• penn badgley
• kevin mchale

• nicholas sparks books/movies (despite the romantic in me still wanting to see that channing tatum/amanda seyfried flick that's hitting the streets-)
• the entire second half of the movie/musical rent
• that line in moulin rouge about only wanting to love and be loved in return
• the boy i fell in love with in college
• my parents... more specifically my father
• feeling stuck
• leaving my best friends after spending over extended periods of time with them (i.e. the flight from pittsburgh back to philadelphia after my friends' wedding weekend. literally 4 days straight with the best friends i may ever have.)
• stress
• frustration
• lonliness

• wicked
• west side story
• lion king
• chicago
• hair
• rock of ages
• phantom of the opera